


Take My Hand

by Tea__Bee



Series: Cuddle Prompts [7]
Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Cuddling, Drinking, M/M, Mutual Pining, Sort Of, Unresolved Sexual Tension, bed sharing, hand holding, story telling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-12
Updated: 2019-03-12
Packaged: 2019-11-16 01:52:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,178
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18085142
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tea__Bee/pseuds/Tea__Bee
Summary: Prompt #7/8: Drunk/On the FloorThe Mighty Nein find themselves in a tiny town with not much to do except drink.Title from Take My Hand by Picture This





	Take My Hand

**Author's Note:**

> Special thanks to Ali from the Widomauk Discord(Meridas here on AO3) for helping me eith the drunk stories! And being generally amazing as always.

Molly was idly twisting his fingers in Caleb's hair and every once in a while, his claws would scratch at his skin lightly or a lock of hair would tug slightly and Caleb was having trouble focusing on anything else. 

It didn't help that he was also  _ very _ drunk.

They had stopped at an inn in the middle of a very small town, somewhere they'd never even heard of. There was essentially nothing else to do here besides get ridiculously drunk, and Nott kept handing him drinks, telling him, “You've been too on edge lately, more than usual. Relax, for once! We're safe here, I promise.” And so he drank.

And drank.

And drank.

And so did everyone else in the party, aside from Jester, who took it upon herself to make sure they all made it through the night. Fjord and Beau had been laughing about something at the other end of the table, Nott and Jester off in the middle of the tavern floor, dancing wildly, much to the amusement of the locals, and Caleb and Molly had found themselves sitting together, gravitating towards each other like it was natural. Molly had one hand on his drink, taking occasional swigs, and he wasn't sure how he'd gotten to the point of having his hand in Caleb's hair, but he  _ loved _ it. 

He remembered swinging his arm across the back of the man's chair, trying to be as casual as possible, and at some point, around 3 drinks ago, Caleb had said… something. It had been funny, he remembered that much, and Molly had found it even more hilarious than anyone possibly could have, his hand rising from the back of the wooden chair to clap down on Caleb's shoulder. Caleb had laughed with him, his eyes lighting up and a smile spreading farther across his face than Molly had ever seen. He was radiant, and Molly couldn't help staring. Molly vaguely recalled brushing a piece of hair from Caleb's face, making him blush across his freckled cheeks, and he must have kept his hand wrapped in his hair since that point. He twirled bits of it around his fingers, longing to just give in, fist his hand in Caleb's hair and kiss him. 

But he couldn't. Caleb wasn't  _ his _ , he had no idea if Caleb could possibly feel the same way he did. Caleb was usually unreadable, and now Molly didn't know if he was just projecting his own hopes into the small glances he caught and the blushing smiles he thought he saw from the other man on occasion. He needed Yasha, he needed to talk to her about this, she would know what to do. But she'd disappeared about a week and a half ago, and there was no telling when she'd be back. He couldn't risk talking to Jester, she'd just try to matchmake and end up getting him in more trouble, Beau would likely just brush him off or think he was crazy, Fjord was no help in these matters, and Nott was absolutely out of the question, even though she'd know her boy best.

Molly realized he was still staring at Caleb, watching a blush build as he got steadily drunk, only a drink or two behind Molly himself. He had never seen Caleb drunk, but it seemed to loosen him up, making him more vibrant, more confident in his surroundings. More like Molly imagined he was with people he truly trusted. 

Molly ran his fingers through the hair closest to his ear, brushing his thumb along the top where the skin had gone nearly beet red, and Caleb tipped his cheek into his palm, closing his eyes and sighing. Molly sat up a little straighter, intrigued. He looked around to see if their friends were watching, and was surprised to find that the place had nearly emptied out, chairs on top of most tables. No one in the group was anywhere to be seen, and the only other person in the room besides Molly and Caleb seemed to be an elven barmaid wiping down a table across the room, shooting glares at the two for taking up the last spots she needed to clean to be able to go home. Molly smirked, deciding to experiment a bit, and raked his claws  _ ever so lightly _ down the back of Caleb's neck, watching as Caleb blinked his eyes open, pupils blown, his mouth dropping open as he let out a gasp. “ _ Molly _ , I-I,” he stuttered out, his hands shaking and grasping at the tabletop as he tried to focus. 

Molly grinned, “Yes, darling?” He said in a low growl, almost a purr. 

Caleb looked at him, breathing hard, “Ah, I… you…” His eyes glanced around the room, and he realized they were alone. “Wh-where is everyone?”

“No idea, why?” Molly asked, twirling another strand of red hair around his finger, tugging lightly, and watching in wonder as Caleb leaned almost imperceptibly closer to him, his eyes sliding back to meet Molly's.

“We should, maybe, um,” he swallowed and tried to catch his breath. “Go upstairs,  _ ja _ ?” 

Molly raised his eyebrows and let out an incredulous laugh, “Yeah,  _ yes _ , that's… yeah,” he fumbled for the key Fjord had tossed him earlier, checking the number stamped on it, and grabbed Caleb's hand. “Come on,” he said, leading the way across the empty bar to the stairs, tossing the barmaid a couple silver for making her stay.

Caleb stared down at their hands, wondering how this had happened. Molly seemed… he  _ wanted _ this? He wanted… _him_ ? Caleb shook his head, trying to figure out if he was dreaming, but he focused again and they were still holding hands. Molly smiled back at him, flushed with alcohol and excitement, and Caleb grinned back. This was real. They were here, in this moment, together, and they both wanted this. Never in his wildest dreams would Caleb have believed it. He squeezed Molly's hand in his, stumbling to keep up, as Molly reached the door that matched the key. 

Molly turned, in awe that Caleb was still following along. He bit his own lip lightly, hesitating only slightly before shaking his head in disbelief and grinning wider. This was real, this was happening, Caleb wanted this, too. He sighed happily and turned the key in the lock, pushing the door open and pulling Caleb in behind him.

He stopped suddenly, Caleb running into him from behind and wrapping his free arm around his waist to steady them both, as he realized they weren't alone. “Oh.”

“ _ Was _ ?” Caleb said, peering around him and gasping, his hand tightening at Molly's hip unintentionally, sending a chill up Molly's spine.

“There you are!” Nott chirped from Jester's lap, where she was getting her hair braided. “We wondered when you two would wander up. Um, there's only the one bed, Fjord said Jester and Beau and I could take it, if you guys don't mind taking the floor like him?” She gave them a lopsided, toothy grin. Beau was flopped on her back next to Jester and Nott, her hair already in several small, haphazard braids, with her head tilted back off the end of the bed and her feet on one of the pillows. 

Caleb pulled his arm from Molly's waist, “No, of course, you girls should, should get the bed, that is, ah, good. That is fine.” He looked around, “I am confused, why are we all rooming together tonight?”

“I  _ knew _ you weren't paying attention earlier,” Jester giggled, looking at them, standing with their hands still clasped. “They only have two rooms, and this was the only one open! We got lucky, really, since this is the only inn in this little town.”

“ _ Ja _ , that is lucky, um,” he looked at Molly, unsure of what to say, and cleared his throat, tilting his head questioningly. 

Molly tugged on Caleb's hand, pulling him into the room and sitting on the floor, their backs against the bed. Caleb leaned against his side, blessedly still keeping hold of Molly's hand, despite being surrounded by their friends. Molly squeezed his hand and rubbed a thumb across his knuckles, smiling softly up at him. 

Fjord had already put out his bedroll on the floor, and was laid down with his arms crossed behind his head. “We were jus’ talking about th’ first time we ever got this drunk,” He chuckled. “I can't believe how strong they make th’ drinks here.” He stretched his arms out above his head, flexing his fingers. “I was… newly out on my own. My first crew, they liked to hit taverns at ev’ry port. I didn't have their trust, right away, but I had stepped up ‘n taken a hit for the firs’ mate, when he could've died. So th’ next port, they all took turns buyin’ my drinks, ‘n I was so smashed I couldn't hardly walk. They carried me back to th’ ship on their shoulders, cheerin’ my name the whole way.”

Beau let out a gruff laugh. “I found this  _ weird  _ sketchy bar when I was smuggling wine from my parents. The buyer changed her mind last minute, but I bet her if I could out-drink her, she had to buy everything she'd originally promised,  _ plus _ an extra case,” she explained, gesticulating wildly with her hands as she spoke. “Not only did I manage to outdrink her, I upped the ante, saying if I could do more pushups than she could, she would go out with me. We were both  _ way _ too drunk to count, though, and ended up just lying on the floor, laughing our asses off. She bought  _ three _ extra cases from me that day, and bought regularly until I got caught.” She frowned and sat up, holding a hand to her head as the room started to spin after rising too quickly, “We never went on a date, though! Man…” Jester and Beau dissolved into laughter.

Caleb spoke up next. “I have  _ never _ been this drunk, truthfully. But thanks to my small friend,” he reached up blindly with his untethered hand, finding Nott's outstretched arm and squeezing it lightly, “I have now.” 

“Booo,” Beau grumbled. “Lame. Don't know why I'm surprised.” She turned over, burying her head in a pillow. 

“ _ Nein _ , Beauregard, it has been a very good night,” he looked at Molly, who blushed, and lay his head on the tiefling’s shoulder. 

Jester chimed in, “I do not like to drink. I don't know why you guys have such fun stories. When I was very  _ little _ , I snuck a fancy, fancy brandy from my Mama's room.” She grimaced. “It tasted  _ so gross _ , and my head got all  _ fuzzy _ , and I couldn't walk straight! I curled up in a big pile of pillows and fell asleep, and woke up with probably the  _ worst  _ headache  _ ever _ , probably.” 

“I tried to mimic Mona and Yuli and ended up dislocating my shoulder,” Molly recalled. “I didn't feel it when it happened, but I _ definitely _ felt it the next day. Oh! And I woke up with my belly button pierced. Apparently I begged Yasha to do it, but she wouldn't, so Ornna went ahead and did it for me. Yasha didn't talk to her for a  _ week _ ”

It was quiet for a bit, all of them thinking of other stories they could tell, when they realized Nott hadn't chimed in yet. “Nott? How 'bout you? 'M sure you're story has t'be good.” Fjord asked, before being shushed by Jester.

“Look, she's _ sleeping _ , guys!” She whisper-yelled. She cooed as she realized Beau was also asleep, snoring into her pillow. “We should all get to sleep, I guess. It's pretty late now, and you guys drank a  _ lot _ .”

Fjord grumbled, scooting down into his bedroll and curling into himself to sleep. Jester tucked Nott in between herself and Beau, snuggling in and sighing happily. 

Molly looked down at Caleb, who had nodded off on his shoulder, still holding tight to his hand. He smiled and leaned his head against Caleb's for a moment. Then he sighed, moving away from Caleb for just a moment to set up the bedrolls. Caleb whined at the loss, then realized his intent, deciding sleeping on a bedroll would be much more comfortable than continuing to sleep sitting up. He moved his bedroll close to Molly's, making the tiefling smile fondly. They sat next to each other, silently removing their shoes and coats in near unison, and lay down facing each other. Molly moved a bit closer, entangling his legs with Caleb's, wrapped his tail around Caleb's ankle and smiled. Caleb reach out and took Molly's hand, wanting to hold it again. He wanted to remember this in the morning, struggled to keep his eyes open. He wanted to tell Molly, to tell him they could continue this another time, that them being interrupted didn't put him off, but he was too sleepy now. He couldn't get the words out. He settled for squeezing Molly's hand once more before he couldn't stay awake any longer.

**Author's Note:**

> This one basically wrote itself, it came out so fast! Sorry if it's sloppy as a result, I just really loved it and wanted to get it out when I finished it! 
> 
> As always, I'd love to know what you thought, so leave a comment!
> 
> J


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